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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. last — final
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lean — to bend
  7. roll — a list
  8. net — in sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. last — finally
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. net — after costs
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. last — to go on
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. snap — to click
  22. dip — to sink
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com